The Republican Noise Machine

Gold Member

It's not a new book but it is a worthy book. The mechanisms he describes still work today.

The Republican Noise Machine by David Brock.David Brock, the reformed conservative noise-maker, on how the Right has sabotaged journalism, democracy, and truth.

The Republican Noise Machine, Brock documents how right-wing groups pressure the media and spread misinformation to the public. It's easy to see how this is done like the new/old socialist label being swung around.

Fringe conspiracies and stories will be kept alive by outlets like Rush Limbaugh, the Washington Times, and the Drudge Report, until they finally break into the mainstream media. Well-funded think tanks like the Heritage Foundation overwhelm news reporters with distorted statistics and conservative spin. Mainstream cable news channels employ staunchly rightwing pundits -- like Pat Buchanan and Sean Hannity -- to twist facts and echo Republican talking points, all under the rubric of "balance." Meanwhile, media groups like Brent Bozell's Media Research Center have spent 30 years convincing the public that the media is, in fact, liberal. As Brock says, it's all a sham: "I have seen, and I know firsthand, indeed from my own pen, how the organized Right has sabotaged not only journalism but also democracy and truth."

Gold Member

I think this is one of the reasons why Jon Stewart enrages so many so much: he's perhaps the only person in broadcast media with the balls to call them out without any simpering attempts at "balance" or "fair play". His popularity unhinges his detractors.

But the open secret to his success is that he does it with a completely self-depreciating humor. Watch him dismantleCrossfire minute by agonizing minute, or handing blowhard Chris Matthews his balls.

Though undoubtedly a flag-waving, unabashed liberal, what he hates is hubris. That's why he's genuinely funny while Rush just ain't.

I think this is one of the reasons why Jon Stewart enrages so many so much: he's perhaps the only person in broadcast media with the balls to call them out without any simpering attempts at "balance" or "fair play". His popularity unhinges his detractors.

But the open secret to his success is that he does it with a completely self-depreciating humor. Watch him dismantleCrossfire minute by agonizing minute, or handing blowhard Chris Matthews his balls.

Though undoubtedly a flag-waving, unabashed liberal, what he hates is hubris. That's why he's genuinely funny while Rush just ain't.

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I'll tell you what i think about John Stewart........I don't see him as partisan AT ALL.......I SEE him as the finest conscienable voice/political satirist/social advocate of my generation. I HEAR him advocating for whats best for all of us as Americans. I know he SPEAKS for me.
The rest of em'?
DIVISION/RHETORIC/LIES/DECEPTION/SPIN/MONGERING/HATE/PARTISANSHIP/FALSE PROFITS.

I'll tell you what i think about John Stewart........I don't see him as partisan AT ALL.......I SEE him as the finest conscienable voice/political satirist/social advocate of my generation. I HEAR him advocating for whats best for all of us as Americans. I know he SPEAKS for me.
The rest of em'?
DIVISION/RHETORIC/LIES/DECEPTION/SPIN/MONGERING/HATE/PARTISANSHIP/FALSE PROFITS.

Stewart is incredibly partisan, he freely admits it. Even though he's quite partisan, he pokes fun at the system rather than individuals for the most part, so he doesn't join the ranks of the hacks.

Pym is just a moron.

edit: Are we ever going to wake up and cast off this useless Republican/Democrat debate and say, perhaps support a party that favors both economic AND social freedom, as opposed to having to choose one over the other?

Economic freedom doesn't have to mean horrible repression against minorities and gays, and social freedom doesn't have to equal financial idiocy.

Hell I can't even call Obama a socialist because socialist want to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor. Bush II and Obama's bailouts have redistributed from the poor to the rich. Is there even a word for this yet? Or will it go down in history as "Obamanomics"?